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Henry County tops Knoxville West in 5-A title game

Henry County tops Knoxville West in 5-A title game

Henry County High School's Adam Allen (40) and teammates celebrate after beating Knoxville West High School 28-27 in the Class 5-A Tennessee high school football championship game on Friday in Cookeville. (AP Photo)

The Associated Press

COOKEVILLE — Jeremiah Godbott and R’Tario Perkins each ran for two touchdowns as they led Henry County to a 28-27 victory over Knoxville West in the TSSAA Class 5A state championship on Friday night at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium.

The Patriots (15-0) survived a last-second flea-flicker attempt from the Rebels (13-2), who were in their first appearance in the championship game.

The win gives Henry County its second championship in school history.

Godbott, who was named the game’s offensive MVP, ran for 114 yards on 23 carries. Perkins ran for 105 yards on 12 carries.

The two teams traded touchdowns back and forth through the third quarter until Perkins put Henry County up 28-21 on a one-yard touchdown run. West’s Justin Hodge scored on an eight-yard run, but Manny Ruiz’s point-after attempt sailed wide right to make the score 28-27 with 11:53 remaining.

The rest of the fourth quarter saw both teams turn the ball over as HCHS lost the ball on downs twice and lost the ball on a fumble - the last one giving the ball to West with 1:07 left in the contest.

With time about to expire, West quarterback Seth Marshall completed a 10-yard pass to Jeff Bronner, then Umar Tate was caught by a wave of defenders, turning the ball over on downs and securing the victory for the Patriots.

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